Now each and every room at the prestigious Plaza Hotel will have an iPad. Pretty swanky. From their iPad guests can order room service, make restaurant reservations, request wake up calls, check airline schedules and even control the rooms lighting, heating and air conditioning. The hotel had a special app designed by ICE software (Interactive Customer Experience) to provide this unique experience.

Intelity's ICE Touch Premiers at The Plaza Hotel from Intelity on Vimeo.

So what’s next for the iPad? After all this is where the iPod started:

This is where George Clooney started:

In other words things can always get better.

The rumors have been flying about when the iPad 2 will make it’s debut and what enhancements will come with it. And as we get closer to having legitimate competition from Droid, Windows and Blackberry tablets there seems to be even higher expectations from the iPad 2.

So first of all when can we expect to see the iPad 2 launch? Well, Apple has gotten quite predictable in their launch schedule. Typically each product gets an annual overhaul. Since the original iPad debuted in April everyone seems to expect some announcements in March and a launch of the iPad 2 in April.

Over the recent months a wide variety of possible enhancements has been thrown out:

• front and back camera
• Face Time
• more memory
• SD card slot
• slimmer form
• multiple screen sizes
• Retina display
• both GSM and CDMA networks
• anti reflective screen for better viewing in sunlight
• upgraded processor
• flat back
• USB Port

I think the slimmer design and the front and back camera are pretty much guarantees, as for the rest, who knows? Many people are predicting these enhancements based on the specs from possible iPad competitors, but since when has Apple added features to a product just because the competition has them?

Remember how long it took for the iPhone to do such basic things as sending a receiving picture texts and cut and paste text? While every other smart phone could easily do these tasks. Apple has never been about adding features just for the sake of adding features or to look good next to the competition.

So I think when the announcement we will see some fantastic enhancements and some glaring omissions, but at the same time I think we can safely say that Apple will still be delivering the best tablet on the market.

So did you watch the Super Bowl? That’s a silly question, of course you did. Or at least you watched the commercials. So you probably caught the commercial for the new Motorola Xoom, the first Android Tablet.

If you missed it here’s a link: http://superbowlads.fanhouse.com/2011/motorola-xoom/

As the commercial opens we see a wave of drones devoid of style or personality. And we know that these drones are Apple users because they all have the tell-talle white headphones. So essentially, they are saying if you own Apple products you are a mindless drone. Insulting your potential customer base is one way to get their attention.

From there the commercial tries to be cute, but fails. Tries to show off the product, but fails. It doesn’t really make any good point as to why someone should choose a Xoom over an iPad or make the Xoom look cool, fun, easy to use, powerful, etc.  In fact the only point the commercial seems to try to make is that you shouldn’t get an iPad or iPhone because everyone else has one. Should I stop drinking water, because everyone else drinks it too? I’m all about being different if there are better options out there, but despite wasting millions of dollars to get our attention Motorola hasn’t told me anything about how their product is better.

There are many tablet devices that are hoping to dethrone the iPad as the tablet device and LG seems to think that adding 3D to their offering will do the trick.  But that’s not all they’ve added. In fact the LG G-Slate is shaping up to be the best Android tablet yet.

The G-Slate (I have to say I am NOT loving the name) runs the Honeycomb operating system and will be using the T-Mobile network. It boasts an 8.9 inch 3D display and a 3D camera. It runs off of a 1GHz Tegra 2 chipset that allows for 720p HD and 3D content on the tablet, and the ability to output 1080p HD and 3D content to TVs and displays. The 5 megapixel rear camera allows for recording of 3D video and the front facing 2 megapixel camera allows for videoconferencing.

It looks like this will debut sometime in the spring but no official launch date or pricing details have been released.

So what do you think? Does a 3D tablet get you excited? Keep in mind it will require 3D glasses to enjoy the benefits of 3D. I, for one, am not sold, but I am looking forward to giving it a try.

I found an interesting article awhile back proposing the iPad would eventually go 3D, I personally don’t see it, but if the G-Slate proves popular it just might happen.

O.K. that might seem like strange advice coming from a blog dedicated to the device. Let me be more clear. If you’re thinking of buying an iPad, WAIT!

Perhaps you’ve been saving your pennies and you finally have enough to buy that shiny new iPad. Or perhaps you just crawled out from under a rock and only just heard about this wondrous device. Perhaps you finally broke down and played with your friends iPad and realized it is, indeed, all that and a bag of chips. It doesn’t matter. If you buy an iPad right now you’ll only be kicking yourself (continue reading…)

Multitasking! Folders! AirPrint! – ok, for like 5 printers. How disappointing. We tried to do shared mac printing, but printers still didn’t show up on our iPad. Go to your iTunes and check for your update now!

Having second thoughts about your jailbroken iPad? Or maybe you want a chance to try out iOs 4.2 when it comes out this November. Well, un-jailbreaking your iPad is just as easy as jailbreaking it.

1. Connect your iPad to your computer and open iTunes.
2. Select your device from the left column.
3. Go to the summary tab.
4. In the Version section, click the Restore button.
5. You will be asked if you want to back up the settings for your device before restoring, click the Back Up button.
6. Your settings will then be backed up and the Restore function will start. Once it’s complete your device will be back to it’s original state.

[via Tech-Recipes]

Notebook Italia has the inside scoop on Toshiba’s new Smartpad  and it looks good.

So far we don’t have any details on what’s on the inside, but there is a very interesting picture of what’s on the outside. Namely, USB, HDMI and a memory card reader. Very interesting.

“They’re called illusions, Michael, tricks are what a whore does for money.” – Gob, Arrested Development

Much ado has been made about the announcements made at Apple’s Fall Event earlier this week, such as the new iPod Nano, iPod Touch and Apple TV, the debut of iTunes 10 and the launch of Ping. But here at iPad Unboxed we were most excited about the announcement that iOS 4.2 for the iPad will come in November, and a look at a few of the enhancements it will bring with it.

• Multitasking – Finally! The iPad will have the same multitasking functionality as the iPhone.  You’ll be able to run all your favorite apps — and switch between them instantly.
• Folders – You will be able to organize apps into folders with drag-and-drop simplicity.
• Wireless Printing – Print mail, photos, web pages, and more directly to a printer on a wireless network.
• Airplay – Wirelessly stream videos, music, and photos from iPad to the new Apple TV, and stream music to AirPlay speakers or receivers, including AirPort Express.

As well as some additional gaming, Mail and Safari enhancements. Can’t wait!

A visit to the Apple website shows that all models of the iPad are now in stock and will ship within 24 hours for the first time since the debut of the “magical and revolutionary” device. So it would appear that supply has finally caught up to meet the demand for the iPad. It will be interesting to see what happens to sales of the iPad moving forward. Will they increase? Were there a lot of people wanting a device and waiting for them to become more accessible? Or will they decrease? With the initial wave of iPad hungry consumers satiated will we see sales drop off?

Were any of you waiting to get an iPad?